This pretty little German Shepherd girl has been with me now for close to six years.
She had been wilfully abandoned, left in a remote countryside area without food, water or shelter. She had been wandering for close on a week. She could have died or have been shot by a farmer. Luckily for her, she centered her area of operations near some animal friendly people who called me. They were a very caring, compassionate couple, and had been leaving food out for her close to their home in an attempt to catch her.
She had formed an attachment with the gentleman and would let him come quite close before she would run off. As she got less nervous and closer they called me in.
Off I went, armed as usual with my tin of dog food. When I arrived she was about 100 feet away from the house, but when she saw a stranger appear on the scene, she ran further away.
This was open countryside, which meant that catching a nervous dog was going be extremely difficult, but she had to be caught for her own sake however hard it the job!
As she seemed to quite like the man it was decided that he would try and tempt her back. I went in for a cuppa with his wife, so that I would be out of sight. We sat waiting and chatting for over 2 hours.
Eventually our erstwhile dog catcher came back, with a big grin on his face. He had caught her and put her in my car! She was sitting in the front seat quite happily, and when I got in she gave me a little kiss. I think she knew she was now safe, and on her way home
Finding pet homes for German Shepherd Dogs is not the easiest thing to do in Ireland. I often get calls from people wanting guarding breeds all the time. However, on being questioned it turns out that they want them to live chained up in a yard or other type of business premises as 'watch dogs'. That is not my idea of a good, caring home for any kind of dog, let alone a German Shepherd, a breed which, like any other dog within the family circle, can be an ideal pet or companion as well as a guard or a guide for a blind human. That being the case, Tara has settled down here with the rest of our 'T Team', Tanya, Teaka and Tessa.
She is now around 7 years old and a real character! I call her 'the littlest German Shepherdess with the biggest brain'.
I had to change the handle on the sitting room door as she figured out how to open it for herself. That did not faze her in the least. I had a friend visiting from the UK and left him in the sitting room with the girls whilst I went off to make some coffee. When I came back in he told me she had been trying to turn the round handle with both her paws, whilst balancing on her back legs. This did not surprise me in the least, but I had been one step ahead of her. I had made sure that the handle was fitted tightly so that it is difficult even for me to twist and open!
She has another learned another little trick as well. If I pay what she considers to be too much attention to any of the other dogs, she will gently take my sleeve and pull my hand towards her. In her opinion it should all be about Tara!!
